Cr Hugh Perkins said consultation on closing the street in the Oamaru historic precinct at weekends should be pursued without delay — and to expect some "confrontation". Council direct roading manager Michael Voss has been asked to consult Harbour St businesses and study a survey conducted by a Harbour St tenant, Oamaru artist Donna Demente, who surveyed 30 Tyne St and Harbour St tenants about the closure.
A total of 26 respondents favoured the closure and asked for mobile planter boxes, more street seating and a greater number of public activities when the street was closed.
The council trialled closing the street from February to April this year after a proposal to permanently restrict the street to pedestrians met resistance from some businesses. Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said while Ms Demente’s survey was "probably not the most scientific", it provided a "good feel for the overall community".
But he noted once the proposed closure became just a trial the planned landscaping work "went out the window". Some of those "more permanent" landscaping proposals for the area would need to be reconsidered, he said.
